Louisiana Legislative Auditor
Daryl G. Purpera, CPA, CFE

January 25, 2016

Pair of Former Jonesville Clerks Failed to Deposit Utility Payments

A pair of former utility clerks in the Catahoula Parish town of Jonesville allegedly received and/or recorded more than $93,000 in utility payments that were never deposited into the bank, according to an investigative report issued Monday by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

Investigators for the state auditor said that $93,841 worth of transactions were received and/or recorded in the town's utility system but not deposited in the bank, a potential violation of state law. Both former clerks denied taking any of the missing funds, which disappeared between December 2014 and September 2015.

"However, Town records indicate that Ms. (Leigh Ann) Ingram and Ms. (Veronica) Barber collected utility payments, failed to issue a receipt for all payments collected, and failed to deposit the collections daily into the Town's bank account," the report said. "Additionally, Ms. Ingram recorded payments to customer accounts without supporting documentation or management approval."

In response to the report, Jonesville Mayor Hiram Evans said the town is taking steps to avoid situations like this in the future.

LLA auditors also found that the town is inadequately managing the finances of its utility system. Issues noted by LLA included: all kilowatt hours purchased are not billed to customers; there are uncollected utility payments and a failure to disconnect services on past-due accounts; and the town does not have written policies and procedures for reconciling meter deposits.

"Without an effective system of financial management, the mayor and board cannot effectively exercise their fiduciary responsibilities of managing the Town's utility system and may be exposing its customers to higher than necessary charges," the report said.

For more information contact:

Legislative Auditor
225.339.3800



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Office of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor | www.LLA.La.gov